SB Nation - Mouhamed Sene

Ridiculous Transactions 9/14-9/20

Jon L — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:00:40 -0000

Erik Daniels is the latest big D-League name to head overseas.

This week's transactions mostly feature some interesting NBA signings sprinkled in with the usual overseas action. Let's do this.

September 14: Nikoloz Tskitishvili - signed with PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece)

No, this isn't a suprise by any stretch, but a small part of me hoped that after Skita's decent Summer League performance, some enterprising NBA team would aat least invite him to camp. Old impressions die hard, I know, but he's a good three-point shooter who can rebound a little. You're telling me there's no room in Golden State for that kind of skill-set? Or Cleveland?

September 18: Erik Daniels - signed with Azovmash Mariupol (Ukraine)

I know that we here at RU weren't always complimentary towards Daniels' game last season, but the fact is that he was playing out of position for most, if not all, of the year, and I would've been interested to see him try and work as a power forward rather than a center. Of course, he managed to be a pretty inefficient scorer even from inside, but there I go being un-complimentary again

September 19: Orlando Magic - signed Morris Almond and Linton Johnson

I'm tempted to go with "see Marge, these guys get it" in regards to the Magic but I have strong doubts that either of these players will end up making the team. Johnson is the guy least likely to, as if anyone has stockpiled more forwards than Cleveland it was Orlando. I don't mean to be dismissive of my former Tulane chum (he doesn't know who I am), but what exactly are the Magic looking for with Johnson? He most recently was attempting to make the Bulls roster by bulking up to guard power forwards, but Orlando already has Rashard Lewis, Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson for that. He's a more natural small forward, but he never contributed much and again, Orlando has like eight guys who can play that position (actual number: four).

Almond makes a little more sense, in that a few of Orlando's shooting guards are also those aforementioned small forwards, and they obviously can't play both positions at once. Point guard is a much more pressing need for the team than shooting guard, though. Still, Stan Van Gundy showed in last year's playoffs that his support for J.J. Redick only goes so far. Some training camp competition for Redick can't hurt, though,and the Magic would have themselves a good three-point shooter and overall efficient scorer on their hands should Almond make it. The more I think about it the more I think Almond would be a great fir for Orlando, but I remain skeptical. It will probably take some measure of defensive prowess to unseat Redick, which isn't really what Almond's known for. He's definitely an NBA-level scorer, though.

September 20: Mouhamed Saer Sene - signed with Hyeres-Toulon (France)

Sene has had a few NBA looks the last few years, the most recent coming with the Knicks,and it's unfortunate that no NBA team tried to bring him to training camp, as he's an excellent shot-blocker and a pretty good rebounder, both things that tend to come in handy. His game seems almost tailor-made for the Nuggets, though they're already bringing in Kurt Looby so I can't be too mad at them. Is it alright for me to still be annoyed with the Rockets?

Looking for a Cheap Center

Ziller — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:28:46 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Fitting with his personality, Oklahoma City Thunder basketball player Robert Swift signs the most avant-garde contract ever. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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Sean May is not a center, and the Kings were thought to be bent on adding another center, therefore it stands to reason that the Kings may be looking to add a center in free agency. Even assuming Jon Brockman earns a roster spot (a virtual lock), the Kings could reasonably add one more guaranteed contract to bring the roster to 14. You wouldn't be surprised if the team stayed at 13, but again the team has been rumored to be concerned with center depth.

Barring trades -- and thus barring Kyrylo Fesenko, who to be quite honest has been a spectre of one Salt Lake City newspaper, which has only tied Fes to Sac by virtue of Fes's relationship with Jason Levien -- who can be had?

I'm inventing some parameters for this investigation.

* Age. Fabricio Oberto rumors aside, you assume the team would rather add a younger player than an older player.

* Reputation. No bad seeds needed, thankyouverymuch.

* Price. I urge you to have faith in my hunch the Kings will not be spending big for a back-up center.

All that said, here are the guys I'd place atop my heap.

Rod Benson

I remain amazed Rod Benson hasn't gotten an NBA shake. Maybe Bryan Gates will lobby for the D-League star. And I'm not vouching for him because he was born in my (quasi-)hometown, or because he's blog-friendly, or because he's Skeets-friendly, or because he's hilarious, or because he works out/lives in Sacramento. All those things help, sure. But he's a good player!

Benson is a killer rebounder on both ends (D-League marks of 13.6% on offense and 22.5% on defense, both of which are top 10 in D-League history). He blocks shots decently (3.5%). He know his offensive role (career usage rate of 18%, with an offensive rating -- that measures efficiently, or using your possessions well -- of 115). He's an efficient scorer, which is to say he knows his limitations and strengths -- he had a True Shooting percentage above 60% last season and shot 57% from the field last season.

He's a good player! He could help the Kings off the bench!

Also, there's something to be said for entertainment value, given the Kings situation. Fans love active players, both on the court and in the community. Benson is very active on the court (see that offensive rebounding percentage again) and I guarantee he'll add a ton of attention from the national sports blogs if he makes the Kings. I wish that were irrelevant, but it's not. (Hey, we argued for Ricky Rubio on somewhat the same basis, right?)

Sign Rod Benson!

Robert Swift

Swift has become a posterboy for the perils of the high school leap, and a huge victory for those who support the age limit. So, as an opponent of the age limit, I'd selfishly love to see Swift reformed. But more than that, he has the tools to be a solid contributor, if his brain and body ever cooperate.

Swift has been a strong defensive rebounder in his NBA career. In his most prolific season (a whopping 987 minutes as a 20-year-old sophomore in 2005-06), he tallied a defensive rebound rate of 21.1%. Last season, in 343 minutes, he improved to 23.2%. It's a small sample size, but when taken along with the earlier mark and the knowledge that the defensive rebounding of big men improves with age, it's a solid bet Swift could be a fine, fine rebounder given minutes.

Swift has also blocked a fair amount of shots in his time, with a career block rate of 4.4%. That age 20 season with his most minutes played, Swift 4.4% of opponent shots, compared with 3.1% for a 20-year-old Spencer Hawes last season. So at least in terms of rebounding and shotblocking, Swift figures to be a better defender than Hawes, which would seem to be a necessity for a back-up center.

The problem with Swift has always been that there is more than one problem. Swift is atrocious on offense -- both invisible and bad, if that can be believed. He has never shot frequently, tossing up only 8.8 FGAs per 36 minutes at age 20 (compared with 12.7 for Hawes last season). He hasn't been a complete turnover machine, even when considering his small role on offense. But that's more of a footnote than a plus: at this point, playing Swift would mean playing 4-vs-5 when on offense. Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin are good, but they may not be that good, especially given the offensive problems at the two forward positions.

Further, Swift's knees have constantly been in terrible shape, and he has had extreme confidence issues ever since entering the league. He's a project who doesn't project to be a role player. But as with the 7-foot youngster, there's a reason he's available.

Mouhamed Sene

Sene has been a disaster in the NBA, Swift Part II. But he has racked up some handsome numbers in D-League play: strong defensive rebounding, stronger offensive rebounding, incredible shotblocking, and efficient scoring at the rim. A longer, less-likely-to-have-a-TV-news-camera-crew-staking-out-his-house version of Justin "3Wil" Williams.

One not negligible issue with Sene is that he is under contract with the Knicks for 2009-10. However, I'm not aware that it is fully guaranteed, and it is a minimum contract nonetheless, so Sene may in fact become available as a free agent sometime this summer.

Johan Petro

I'm addicted to failed Sonics draft picks! Petro has actually been the best of the three, but I'm not sure he can be had for the minimum salary. (Hence his placement.) He's also the type who values his offense more than he should, taking too many shots despite godawful efficiency marks. Petro isn't a shotblocker like Swift or Sene, and not nearly the offensive rebounder Benson is. A strong defensive rebounder, though. If you signed Petro, you'd need to immediately put him in a box and tell him to stop shooting the basketball.

Ryan Hollins

Brian McCormick brought up Hollins late Sunday. The Pacers were interested, but instead signed Atlanta's Solomon Jones (who definitely would have made this list). Hollins is most infamous for talking smack during last year's playoffs, something about Kobe. I don't know. I tend not to listen to smack talk from bit players. My specific issue with Hollins is that he is a terrible defensive rebounder, like truly awful. He's good on the offensive glass, but so, so bad on the defensive end. He blocks shots and knows his role on offense, but the Kings cannot afford another bad defensive rebounder. Sorry.

Paul Davis

Let's go with "ditto" for ex-Clipper Paul Davis, although Davis isn't even good at finishing around the rim. Boo.

*****

In conclusion, sign Rod Benson!

A Look Back at Vegas Summer League: Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:15:07 -0000

Jawad Williams, shown here playing for the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers, played well for Cleveland at Vegas Summer League.

View full size photo »

In the wake of Vegas Summer League being over, and as I did with the Orlando Summer League, I've been taking a look at some noteworthy performances from "non-NBA" players. Part 1 dealt with guys who have been playing in Europe or who otherwise aren't currently under contract anywhere. Today examines the players from the D-League who were in Vegas, either on the D-League Select team or on an NBA squad's roster. Again, I'm only concerned with players who played three or more games, in order to get some semblance of sustained (such as it is) success (this means no Othyus Jeffers or Trey Johnson, who each played very well in two games for the D-League squad). I wanted to limit it to ten guys, but I cheated a bit and threw in an honorable mention category (which makes even less sense since the 10 guys aren't ranked in any way), which we'll look at first.

Honorable Mention: Brent Petway, Romel Beck, Mouhamed Sene, Will Conroy

Petway complemented Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan fairly well, and while his scoring wasn't very consistent, he showed off his elite shot-blocking ability and averaged 3.6 blocks per 48 minutes, slightly more than he did last season with the Stampede. Beck made 43 percent of his three-pointers and 52.8 percent of his field goals overall, though he didn't contribute much other than scoring. Sene got a ton of blocks compared to his playing time, eight in 35 minutes, but while I didn't expect to see many points from him he didn't get many rebounds, either. Conroy was a solid point guard either starting or coming off the bench, and he made 52.2 percent of his field goals, but his assists were down a little bit from what they were in the D-League on a per-minute basis.

The rest of the players are after the jump.

Richard Hendrix (6'9" F, Denver Nuggets) - Hendrix had perhaps the best overall Summer League out of anyone, playing very well with the Orlando Magic team before repeating that performance in Vegas. He appeared in four games for Denver and started three, though he played the second-fewest minutes on the team. He still managed to shoot 63.2 percent from the field, average 13.4 rebounds per 48 minutes, and most impressively, turn the ball over only once in those four games.

Coleman Collins (6'9" F, D-League Select) - Collins was very solid for the D-League team, and I've said this before but it bears repeating: I don't understand why he didn't play more last season. Collins was one of the leading rebounders on the team and averaged 24 points per 48 minutes, all while picking up only six fouls in five games. He made 51.4 percent of his shots, too.

CJ Giles (6'11" F/C, Denver Nuggets) - Giles rebounded the ball very well for the Nuggets, averaging 15 rebounds per 48 minutes, and he made half of his field goals. He also averaged just over five blocks on a per-minute basis, though he also committed the most fouls on the team.

Kurt Looby (6'10" C, D-League Select) - RU binky Kurt Looby did what he does best, which is block shots and rebound. Looby grabbed as many rebounds as Collins did but in about 40 fewer minutes, and finished averaging 17 rebounds on a per-minute basis. He also blocked nine shots in five games. I keep repeating this, but while the offense isn't there right now, Looby will be ready to take on the NBA very soon.

Coby Karl (6'5" G, Denver Nuggets) - Yeah, yeah, he should've been listed with the "Europe" players rather than the D-Leaguers, but what are you gonna do? Coby Karl had a somewhat shaky Orlando Summer League, but he did very well in Vegas, making 61.5 percent of his field goals and half of his threes, as well as picking up rebounds and assists at decent rates for his position.

David Monds (6'8" F, Los Angeles Lakers) - Monds was a very solid player for the Lakers, though he didn't start any of the games. He led the team in per-minute scoring, shot 60.4 percent from the field and averaged 13.3 rebounds per 48 minutes, and only turned the ball over twice in five games. His free throws could use some work, as he shot 54.5 percent from the line.

Ronald Dupree (6'7" F, Denver Nuggets) - Yes, that Nuggets team was pretty stacked. Dupree was the team's second-leading scorer on a per-minute basis (and came in only .2 points behind Ty Lawson), and he also rebounded the ball fairly well, though he didn't do much beyond those two things.

Malik Hairston (6'6" G, San Antonio Spurs) - Hairston did a good job shooting the ball, shooting 52.8 percent from the field and averaging 21.4 points per 48 minutes. He didn't offer the kind of rebounding that he usually does, though that my be because he was sharing the court with two monster rebounders in DeJuan Blair and Ian Mahinmi.

Jawad Williams (6'9" F, Cleveland Cavaliers) - Williams showed off his scoring and rebounding in Vegas, making half of his three pointers and averaging 28.2 points and 10 rebounds per 48 minutes (that scoring average was best on the team). He's generally a solid defender as well, though Summer League isn't really the place for that.

DeMarcus Nelson (6'4" G, Chicago Bulls) This is also cheating a little bit since the Bulls called Nelson up before the end of last season, but he showed himself to be a pretty good all-around guard in Vegas. He had some off nights, but ended up shooting 48.1 percent from the field and tied for the second-most assists on the team. He finished averaging seven rebounds and 5.5 assists per 48 minutes, though he could stand to cut down on the turnovers a little bit.

SummerKings 84, SummerKnicks 71

Seth — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:38:28 -0000

The more things stay the same, the more they stay the same. The Knicks' Summer League squad remained winless in Las Vegas last night, bowing to the Kings, 84-71. The defense was ugly, the shooting was worse, and this one was over long before the final whistle. Nobody's counting wins and losses, though, so let's get to the individual reports.

Toney Douglas- Early on, I wrote in my notes that I'd like Toney to draw contact more often. There were a few plays in which he'd found a seam, but wasted it by forcing a kick-out, sometimes to an unexpecting teammate. As the game progressed, though, Toney grew bolder and more willing to take some hits. The good thing is that he's already strong enough to finish with contact. His and-one attempts kept rimming out (this will be a theme of the recap), but 7-10 from the line ain't bad. The rest of his offense was as it has been: speedy drives, simple passes, and inaccurate shooting. In fact, one of Toney's best outside attempts was a mishandled pass that somehow found its way towards the rim, but clanged out. He did add a few successful righty floaters into the mix, which gets the P&T stamp of approval.

It's the defensive end, though, that's really got me hot and bothered about Toney Douglas. Tyreke Evans is a big fellow, but Toney gave him all he could handle in the backcourt. Douglas was quick enough to stay in front of him and sturdy enough to withstand many of his drives. If I have any criticism, it's that ducking under picks when Evans has the ball might not be a terrible idea. A few of his baskets came when Douglas got hung up fighting over screens. I'd say you challenge Evans to can a few jumpers before you trail him that closely on the perimeter. Otherwise, Douglas more than held his own against the draft's #4 pick. The man can defend.

Jordan Hill- Hill continues to show that he's a project. He's got most of the movement down, at least on offense, but he's just not strong or active enough to avoid getting bulldozed. He reminds me of a player I created in FIFA '09 the other day. His name was Francois Rampage. He was black with a white afro and a red mustache. He was 6'9'' and weighed 114 pounds. He had all the offensive talent in the world (Literally. I gave it to him.), but was just too light and flimsy to withstand any sort of contact. It's tragic, really.

Anyway, we need to be patient with Jordan Hill. He's got room to grow, and I believe he will. Just channel your draft-related druthers into Darko Milicic worship for now.

Morris Almond- If it's up to me, Morris Almond will make the team. Then again, if it were up to me, Brian Greene would be starting at all five positions. Nonetheless, Almond can shoot holes in the nets, but it's the rest of his game that continues to impress. For one, Mo Nuts has shown off some very fluid diagonal drives to the basket. His finishes just wouldn't fall, but he's got the right combination of size and speed to score in the paint. Just ask Omri Casspi, who became the first Israeli player on an NBA poster. Meanwhile, Nuts showed that he's no slouch when he commits himself on defense, hounding Casspi into a couple of bad, bad misses. Morris Almond deserves to be a Knick, and I believe he will be.

Blake Ahearn- I've heard great things about Blake Ahearn as a player and person, and I really feel for the guy after these last three performances. The man just can't get it done on defense, and has far from made up for it with his offensive play.

Mouhamed Sene- I wonder if Mou's ever played volleyball?

Warren Carter- Warren Carter's got a delightfully presidential name, and he's making me wish the Knicks had room for him in the frontcourt. I feel like a Renaldo Balkman comparison is cheap, what with the hair and all, but that's who his energetic play brings to mind. Hustle harder, Warren. You'll get yours.

Yarsolav Korolev- Poor, sweet Yarsolav.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili- Nothing new here. Just more dominance in absolutely every aspect of the game. He even pulled out a few behind-the-back dribbles, thus adding "Skeet to my Lou" to his already lengthy list of brilliant nicknames.

Speaking of which, the announcer for this game must have been the last cut at Rucker Park. Mike Lisboa said it best on Twit: "I think he just called Blake Ahearn "The Professor".

And that's it for now, amigos y amigas. We're back in action at 6 p.m. tonight, so come right on back to join the thread. Summer League's gonna be over soon, so get your pithy comments in while there's still time.

SummerPistons 96, SummerKnicks, 73

Seth — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:08:38 -0000

The Knicks' Summer League squad got torched in Vegas last night. DaJuan Summers and Austin Daye were more than the Knick youngsters could handle, and Detroit controlled the action from very early on. Summer League's just an audition for the real thing, though. Let's take a look at which Knicks made waves on Day 2. What we saw wasn't all that different from Day 1, so I'll be brief.

Toney Douglas- We know from testament and footage alike that Toney can shoot the ball. He's got a weird, pushy form, though, that looks pretty ugly when it's not connecting. And it hasn't been. After shooting 2-13 on Tuesday, Toney was 1-6 from last night. Part of it is that his jumpers have often been forced and out of rhythm. Whether that's a case of the jitters or a product of unfamiliar teammates I'm not sure. Based on what we've seen, though, Toney's stroke should return.

Ghostface's passing continued to impress yesterday, and he made a few more of the "homerun" passes I was clamoring for in the first game. He still prefers to get a step on his own man, then kick out to the perimeter (much to the delight of Mr. Tskitishvili), but he hit a couple cutters and threw a nice alley-oop to Jordan Hill as well. The Knicks have good passers, though. What we're really looking for is someone with the verve to lead a team from the point guard spot. If these two games are any indicator, Douglas is as good a candidate as any. On one intriguing possession, some Knick was dawdling at the top of the key. Toney looked his way and demanded the ball with an unmistakable thug clap. After receiving the ball, he guided Jordan Hill through a screen-and-roll and fed him with a beautiful pass underneath. Hill missed the finish, but Toney made it clear that he's not afraid to play point guard like a boss amongst the summer league youngsters. He's the king of the sandbox, but can he command a team of veterans? I certainly hope so.

Jordan Hill- Hill's still got to get his legs under him and go up strong more often, but he at least looked a little more assertive in this one. Hill cans jumpers with confidence out to 18 feet, but he's not so bold under the rim. He fades and bends far too much. On one particularly telling play, Hill went up to defend a slashing DaJuan Summers, but didn't really commit himself. Summers punished him by making the basket and muscling Hill to the floor, drawing the foul. Hill's got to play bigger, but to be fair, Summers is a goddamn beast. The man is enormous.

If Hill ever does become an Amare Stoudemire-type, he'll reach that point from another direction. Stoudemire was a high-flying bruiser who learned the arts of tact and finesse. Hill's already got good touch, a clear head, and the manners of a gentleman. He needs an injection of brute force- the mentality and muscle with which Amare was blessed. Just like with Douglas, the video shows flashes of the player we'd like to see.

Joe Crawford and Morris Almond- One of these guys is going to get real minutes at the two-spot. Crawford once again showed a number of skills, canning some outside shots, charging the rim like an ox, and really getting after loose balls. Almond, meanwhile, pulls from absolutely anywhere, and usually doesn't miss. One's a pure shooter, the other's sturdier and more complete. I'd be happy with either one understudying or even replacing Larry Hughes as D'Antoni's preferred shooting guard.

Mouhamed Sene- I'm pretty sure Sene would try to swat a newborn baby if you tossed it high enough.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili- All I'm saying is if Skita's jersey said "Gallinari" on the back, we would be going bonkers right now.

Yaroslav Korolev- Korolev's not going to get a training camp invite, but I just want him to know that we appreciate him. Keep at it, Yaroslav.

Rashaad Singleton- This guy hasn't actually played a minute yet, but I see no reason why a 22 year-old seven-footer who broke the bench press record at the combine shouldn't get to spin a little. He'd either dominate the opposition or do something funny like pop a basketball. Strong people are always entertaining.

Other notes:

- "I've been counting more sheep than cards"- Walt Frazier, setting the bar for old-man-in-Vegas jokes.

- Chris Duhon's charity golf thing looked like a success. He rounded up some New York celebs and generated some funds for his hometown of Slidell, Louisiana, which is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Incidentally, I was watching UFC with some bros last night, and one of the fighters was from Slidell. I mentioned that that was also Chris Duhon's hometown, and got uniformly glared at. FML, I guess.

- Oh also, I've never played or watched golf in my life, but I can tell you without a doubt that Chris Duhon's golf swing is horrendous. He completely whiffed one drive.

- Donnie Walsh sat in the booth with Clyde and Breen for a few minutes, and was remarkably candid throughout. Breen kept lobbing him compliments about Toney Douglas, but Walsh would repeatedly revert to criticizing Toney's poor shooting of late. He made a point, too, of Jordan Hill's need to add muscle and get in shape. We also learned that Walsh tried to trade for Morris Almond last year, which certainly suggests that Mo Nuts will, at the very least, get a Saratoga invite.

- I'd like to take this opportunity to once again pitch my TV gameshow "Walsh or Diesel?" in which contestants are played a clip of either Donnie Walsh or Vin Diesel talking, and have to guess which one it is.

- It's really amusing how completely bored the hundreds of the kids in the crowd are at Summer League. The camera kept panning across rows and rows of children slapping each other, playing Gameboys (or whatever it is that kids play these days), or straight-up napping. What, Warren Carter isn't good enough for you guys? Brats.

- Watching the Senegalese Mouhamed Sene and the Georgian Nikoloz Tskitishvili both try and reject the same shot gave me the idea for a straight-to-video film series called Intercontinental Block Party. It's clips of foreign guys playing defense set to dance music from around the world. Email me to reserve a copy.

The SummerKnicks are in action again on Friday, when they'll face Tyreke Evans and the SummerKings. SummerKings would be a good name for a boy band.

Identifying Potential Late Season Pickups

JakeTheSnake — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:00:40 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Though he didn't help them to a championship, Joe Smith was a great late season addition for the Cavs last season after having his contract bought out with the Thunder.

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If you're looking for an evidence to support your claim that the NBA is a league where the rich get richer, look no further than the trend of veteran players signing with elite contenders after having their contracts bought out. Just last year we saw as Joe Smith, Drew Gooden, Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore among others sign with contenders after their cellar-dwelling teams bought out the end of their contracts.

With the cap going down and plenty of free agents hitting the open market, it's safe to assume that several teams will be looking to negotiate buyouts with players. Obviously, there won't be as many players available in the late-season market as there are right now, but there's a good chance that there will be some better talent available to sign for the veteran's minimum in February than there is right now to sign to the low level exemption. Of course, signing someone is contingent on being a contender before they sign. Otherwise, they'll just sign with a team that has a better chance of getting a ring.

After the jump, we'll narrow down the options and see what players could hit the open market later this season.

Beofre we begin, here's a list of all the free agents for the 2010. This is where the pool for our buyout candidates will come from, since there probably won't be any owners looking to buyout more than the last half of a season off of any player's contract. Just to be safe, we'll exclude restricted free agents and players who have options on their contracts. We'll also exclude guards and wings who might be nice additions, but don't address any critical needs in what's already a very deep backcourt.

Now that we've taken care of all the disclaimers, let's start paring down who's left to see what's available.

Step 1: Eliminate anyone on a contending team

Players already on contenders are already doing enough to make their teams good which gives the team no reason to want to get rid of him and the player no reason to hop ship for a team with a shot of winning it all. I'm only including Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, the Lakers, San Antonio, and Denver as true contenders at this point, though other teams could always insert their name into the discussion as the season goes along.

This eliminates: Brian Scalabrine, Shaquille O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Steven Hunter, Brian Cook, Chuck Hayes, DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell, and Matt Bonner.

Step 2: Eliminate anyone who wouldn't be desirable even if they become available

Needless to say, there would probably be some venom spewed if these players were brough in as the final piece of the puzzle.

This eliminates: Randolph Morris, Jerome James, Mark Blount, Francisco Elson, Malik Allen, Brian Cardinal, Mark Madsen, Etan Thomas, Mouhamed Sene, Kenny Thomas, Patrick O'Bryant

Step 3: Eliminate anyone who won't be bought out because they're just too good

Even if the player has a 100% chance of walking away in free agency, the negative PR backlash of buying out these players would just be too much to bear.

This eliminates: Carlos Boozer

Step 4: Eliminate all young players

You won't see any of these players bought out because their age still makes them valuable. Besides, do you think the veterans already on the team want to deal with another young player after last year's debacle?

This eliminates: Craig Smith, Amir Johnson, Louis Amundson

So who's left?

A mish-mash of veterans who can give the team something if they think the Wizards have a shot of giving them what they want: a championship. First, let's take a look at the guys with an outside chance of being buyout material if their respective team's find themselves in an unexpectedly down year.

Brad Miller
Kwame Brown (not that he'd come to D.C., but I had to throw it out there...)
Udonis Haslem
Jermaine O'Neal
Al Harrington
Darko Milicic

The chances of seeing any of these fine men bought out are extremely, extremely low. They'd have to be out of the playoff hunt very early and more than likely burn a few bridges with their current team. But in uncertain times, anything is possible so it would be premature to eliminate any of these possibilites.

Then there are the respectable players stuck on floundering teams who have the best shot of being buyout material. Since they have the most realistic shot of winding up on a contender, they deserve the most focus. So after a few hundred words of talking about who won't be bought out, let's take a look at the players with the best shots of being contributors to a contender one by one.

Marcus Camby: Camby is on tap to make nearly $10 million this season from one of the more tight-fisted owners in the league in Donald Sterling. On top of that, his presence (together with Chris Kaman's) creates a logjam in the low post where Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan need minutes to develop. He'll be beneficial at the start of the year as he helps the young guys to understand the league better, but the reality is that the team likely isn't going to go anywhere this season and Griffin & Jordan have to be given the chance to sprout their wings at some point.

The Spurs nearly made a deal for Camby at the deadline last season and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see teams inquire about making a trade for him this season as well. The Clippers will probably do all they can to boost his trade value in order to get something useful in return, but it's hard to see anyone giving up a prospect and swallowing the rest of Camby's contract for what amounts to a rental. If Camby doesn't get traded, it probably won't take long for both sides to start talking about a buyout.

Kurt Thomas: San Antonio saved Kurt from lottery land in 2008 when they traded Brent Barry's expiring contract to Seattle for his services. Of course, Barry ended up having the rest of his contract bought out and he returned to San Antonio just in time for their final push last year. Now Thomas finds himself on the other side of the deal, sent to Milwaukee as part of the Richard Jefferson deal. His contract isn't terrible, (he's due to make $3.8 million) which makes it much easier for Milwaukee for the Bucks to work out a buyout without breaking the bank, but it also makes him much easier to trade for than Camby.

Tony Battie: Like Thomas, Tony Battie went from a great situation with a contender to finding himself on a lottery team after being included as part of the Vince Carter deal. He'll be a nice addition to a shallow frontcourt, but I don't think anyone is kidding themselves into thinking that they'll be contenders next season or that the 33 year old Battie has any kind of long-term future with the team. As is the case with Camby and Thomas, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Nets do everything they can to boost his value and get prospect for a late season rental, but in this market, I don't see many teams looking to buy at Battie's price (just over $6 million). Of the thee players listed, Battie probably has the most buyout potential

It will be interesting to see if these players do get bought out where they will land. Camby seems like a natural fit for San Antonio and the Spurs have a knack of getting the players they want. If he hits the open market, I don't think it will take long at all for him to end up in the Alamo, but you never know who might make a push to sign him. Thomas and Battie are much more interesting. If the Spurs do end up getting Camby, his presence along with the addition of Antonio McDyess would eat up most, if not all of his minutes. Likewise, it would be hard to see Battie returning to Orlando now that they have Ryan Anderson, Brandon Bass at their disposal, and they still have Marcin Gortat.

If the Wizards can stay healthy and show that they're an elite Eastern Conference squad next season like they think they can be, it might make sense to wait and see who has their contract bought out after the trade deadline. Not only will the players available at that point likely be better than the ones available for the LLE right now, but they'll come at a cheaper price.

SummerGrizz 90, SummerKnicks 86

Seth — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:43:34 -0000

Day one of Knicks basketball in Vegas was full of promise, and did not disappoint for those of us watching the youngsters closely. Assistant coach Phil Weber played 10 different men, several of whom turned some heads throughout the evening. The Knicks dropped the contest due to a late-game flurry by Marcus Williams and the Grizzlies, but we all know wins and losses don't count. Weren't the Knicks like 6-0 in Summer League that year they went 23-59 in the regular season? If anything, the loss is a good omen. Anyway, it's all about the individual this time of year, and I paid diligent attention to the guys of note. Expect massive generalizations about players based on 20 minutes of exposure. It's the American way. My impressions, after the jump...

Jordan Hill- The 8th pick in the draft showed both the promise that made him a lottery selection and the weaknesses that had experts scratching their heads. Here's what we saw:

- Hill's incredibly useful on the boards, but in a different way than someone like David Lee. Where Lee has that seemingly magnetic quality of always being in the right place, Hill's often out of position. Instead, Hill uses his height, long arms, and even a dreadlock or two to corral rebounds that appear to be out of reach. His instincts may not be there yet, but he gets after it. That said, I'd like to see him grab rebounds with both hands instead of slapping at them, and also look to follow on offensive boards.

- That last part has a lot to do with Hill's feeble tendencies under the basket. I don't think the guy had a single dunk tonight. Even when he had good position, he tended to fade away and try to finesse the ball in. Hill was probably nervous and is still working into game shape, so I expect that'll change. You just can't shoot 6-inch fadeaway jumpers in the NBA. Once Hill gets his sea legs, I'm sure he'll go up strong and posterize kids.

- Hill's footwork with the ball is still a bit awkward (he's gonna draw his share of charges and travels, I assure you), but his movement without the rock looks sharp. He knows where to be on the pick and roll (more on that later), and can seal his man on a post-up too.

- The mid-range jumper was a little shaky (I think one of them hit the far bottom corner of the backboard. Said guest announcer Mike D'Antoni, "Keep it in the gym, Jordan!" ), but Hill canned a few and has solid form. We also got glimpses of a righty hook and a turnaround fadeaway J from the high post. Not bad.

- The ends of Hill's dreads are dyed, right? That's what that is? It gives him a sort of hystricine-chic look. I kinda think he's gotta chop them off, though. His hair's weighing him down.

- If Hill can block some shots, I think D'Antoni can get away with playing him at the five spot.

Toney Douglas- Despite 2-13 shooting, Toney was the game's standout player. Notes:

- First, the 2-13. I can explain all 11 of those misses. A couple were heaves to beat the shot clock or final buzzer, a few were rim-outs of good shots, and another few were force-ups. His jumper was shakier than advertised and a couple attempts were fairly silly, but it wasn't as bad as the box score might tell you. There's your major drawback. Most of what follows is positive.

- Toney Douglas can totally play point guard. He dropped 11 dimes and didn't cough up a single turnover in 29 fun-filled minutes. His primary mode of attack was to power by his man, draw a second defender, then kick it out to the perimeter. His main targets were Morris Almond and Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who connected for three treys a piece. He also showed adeptness, particularly in the second half, at threading pinpoint passes to Jordan Hill on the block.

- Pretty Toney is by no means a pure point guard, though. He missed many a cutter (often Jordan Hill) after screens, and occasionally looked for his own shot when he had several superior alternatives. The flipside of that is that he didn't force passes. It's hard to argue with 11 assists and 0 turnovers when Douglas was playing with a bunch of relative strangers.

- It was immediately and abundantly clear that Toney Douglas is an excellent defender. Like reallllly good. He's got the long arms and quick hands to stalk passing lanes (2 steals), but also plays better on-the ball D than any Knick in recent memory. Douglas wrapped himself around picks instead of ducking them, bodied guys up all the way to the basket, and landed good, hard fouls when he had to. Save for one lapse (trying to pick Marcus Williams' pocket and letting him by late in the fourth), Toney's defense was splendid.

- Calling an on-court huddle to discuss defensive assignments? Easy way to impress the coaches. And me.

- Two style notes: 1. Douglas tends to grab boards and then kick it into high gear to start the offense. I like this. 2. Douglas likes to start his attack from near-halfcourt, perhaps to build up a head of steam. He also wastes a lot of picks by dribbling backwards instead of making a move towards the rim. Don't like this as much. I would've liked to see him reach the paint more, either for finishes or fancy dishes. I know he's got it in him.

Morris Almond- Mo Nuts can and will shoot. He hits them, too. I like his odds at making the team.

Joe Crawford- Joe's a champ at bullying his way to the rim. He's got strength for days, and also a very healthy beard. The Knicks could use both.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili- Skita is the goddamn truth. I'm hardly kidding. He looks much bulkier than I remember, and made his presence felt early on with a few blocks. We also got a glimpse of some big boy range (3-5 from downtown), though he mishandled more than a few passes. I was already on board for novelty's sake, but Skita's legit. I will do everything in my power to assure that he's a Knick.

Mouhamed Sene- Sene may be my favorite Knick ever. He's got this way of blocking shots that can only be described as "catty". He takes a long, limp-wristed swing that produces a wonderful popping sound when it connects with a shot. Mutombo had his finger wag. Sene should blow a kiss or something. While Mouhamed can certainly swat, his apparent attempt to headbutt the dunking Trey Gilder was a bit of a chink in the defensive armor.

Warren Carter- Warren Carter kinda looks like Dominique Wilkins with dreads.

Ron Howard- It's very cool to have that guy who directed Apollo 13 and narrates Arrested Development on the Summer League roster. Kind of a publicity stunt, though, to give starter's minutes to an Oscar-winner, if you ask me. Also, I never pictured him as being black. Or 26.

Some other notes:

- A second quarter timeout saw a shot of Donnie Walsh juxtaposed with "Who Let the Dogs Out" playing over the arena sound system, which I'l take as a hint that Donnie was once a Baha Man. I knew it.

- At halftime, we got to see video of Tina Cervasio's lunch with Toney Douglas and Jordan Hill. The two refer to themselves as each other's "wingman". In this supposed Top Gun scenario, I'd imagine that Toney is Maverick and Jordan is Iceman. Ron Howard is Goose, if you catch my drift.

- MSG brought their varsity squad to the broadcast booth: Breen and Clyde (dressed like he was in The Bucket List) covered the action, and even invited in a couple guests. Danilo Gallinari stopped by in the first half, and shared good news about his back rehabilitiation in much-improved English. It was a relatively unremarkable visit, except for one point when I'm pretty sure Clyde asked Gallinari out on a date.

- The second guest was Mike D'Antoni, who sat in for the entire third quarter. He was as corny and hilarious as ever, and elicited an LOL or two on my part. Regarding Darko Milicic's absence, D'Antoni said "I've called him like 15 times. It just keeps ringing". When asked about Chris Duhon's reaction to the Knicks' pursuit of Ricky Rubio and Jason Kidd, D'Antoni suggested, "I'll just lie to him and tell him it's not true". Meanwhile,the interview was peppered with a few bouts of mutual laughter between Breen and D'Antoni that lead one to believe that the two engaged in some kind of sordid hooker-drowning spree the night before. Wouldn't surprise me, knowing those two and their whacky antics.

- Blake Ahearn holds the record for highest free-throw percentage in NCAA history.

- I don't know where Phil Weber located a Knicks-licensed white linen shirt, but wearing it half-buttoned was Brosnan as hell. Respect.

- Highlight of the night: To end a halftime interview, Toney Douglas proclaimed that his second half plan was to "Do what Toney Douglas do." This is the early front-runner for the Official '09-'10 Posting and Toasting Motto. Video coming soon.

And that's all I've got for game one of Summer League. Thanks to everyone who commented along. Please return tomorrow at 4 p.m. for more comments and Toney Douglas worship. Goodnight.

Phoenix Suns Summer League: The Game Plan

Phoenix Stan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:01:09 -0000

In less than a week from now the "Summer Suns" will kick off their five game 2009 Vegas Summer League season.

I along with numerous other SBN bloggers will be on hand taking it all in. This year I will be doing double duty covering our boys both for this site but also working on behalf of Suns flagship radio station Sports 620 KTAR. I will be in Vegas July 12th to the 18th catching three of the Suns five games and taking the opportunity to watch a lot of other young players and perhaps, just maybe have a little fun too.

The key thing to remember about Summer League ball is to ignore the game and focus on the individual play. These are teams thrown together with a wide range of talent. They get little opportunity to practice together and each and every player is out there to show his stuff and advance his own agenda.

Typically, we deride this "me-first" ball but in Vegas it is totally acceptable and expected so in other words ignore the score and focus on who does what in the context of the five on five competition.

Going into anything as monumental as the Vegas Summer League, you have to have a game plan and here's what I've got.

Roster

Our good friends over at Ridiculous Upside have taken the time to give us the skinny on the various roster filler on this year's team, They will have the privilege of mainly watching four guys with guaranteed contracts and one 2nd round draft pick get the majority of the minutes.

There's only two guys in that group that might be of interest. Jiri Hubalek a 6'11" F/C who played (well I thought) for the Suns last season in Vegas before departing early for a contract in Europe and Kaspars Berzins, a 7fter who's athletic and mobile. If nothing else, these big guys will be interesting to watch.

Enough about those guys though, Summer League for the Suns this year anyway isn't about trying to find a diamond in the rough. It's about gauging the development of three or five young Suns players and draft picks

Returning players development

The Suns are one of the only teams that will start three guys with NBA experience (Lopez, Tucker and Dragic) and each one will come to these games with something to show.

Goran Dragic - Goran's summer so far has kept him primarily in the gym. I haven't seen him yet myself but several people have told me how much muscle he's put on and how cut he looks. Aside from that improving his chances with the young Slavic girls at ASU, this additional strength will help him finish after contact and fight through screens. That's the plan anyway and what I will be looking for.

Talent wise, we know that Dragic has average handle and above average court vision and decent shooting and defense. For his development at point guard I am hoping to see a lot more floor leadership. It is a lot to ask from this young kid from Slovenia and I don't expect him to show up and be Chris Paul but I will be looking for how well he handles this team.

Goran's a nice kid with an out-going personality. Good sense of humor. Smart. He's a guy you kind of want to like and perhaps date your daughter but I've yet to see the "eye of a killer" in him. My expectations aren't high in this regard but perhaps on the court against a lot of guys who he will have a significant advantage over he might put the hammer down on occasion. I definitely want to see him respond tough to some physical play. He can be a nice guy off the court. In Vegas he's going to need to starting earning his reputation as a guy that isn't going to be pushed around.

Robin Lopez - The key for Robin has long been his will and desire. He had a tough rookie season playing in the shadow of both a revitalized Shaq and his brother Brook who turned consistent playing time into a great rookie season. How Robin responds to that challenge could be the key to his entire NBA career.

After seeing him down right dominate at times last summer in Vegas, I am convinced he has all the physical tools needed to be a Chandler-like defensive center. He also has the ability to be a better post player than Chandler with decent improvisational moves and counters and the opportunity to have range out to 10 or 12 feet.

In other words, Robin has a LOT of untapped upside and next week will give us a peak into how much of that he's ready to show next season. Or maybe he's just a laid back kid who enjoyed his time off and will coast through his contract until he's out of the league in a few more years. That could happen too.

On the court we probably won't see much post play from the up tempo Gentry-led Suns but we will have plenty of opportunity to see if Robin plays defense with as much intensity as last year but with more smarts. His rebounding was also a big question in his limited minutes with the Suns last year so I will be looking for how much he's learned about cleaning the glass. Offensively, I would be shocked if we don't see him in the pick and roll on numerous occasions. He can catch and finish both over the top and on bounce passes. He's no Amare but he's not a stiff either.

Alando Tucker - Tuck had a fantastic summer last year on both ends of the court. He showed me a lot of maturity and leadership and is a big reason why I am still sold on his potential. Tucker has nothing to prove to me other then his health.

I want to see him fully recovered from his knee surgery and continue to selectively dominate offensively both attacking the rim as well as shooting off screens. Perhaps his biggest room for improvement will be his outside shooting. He's done pretty well from behind the arc but his flat shot is a problem and will limit his consistent range. I am curious to see if he's changed his form.

I fully expect Tucker to be the leader of this team and I think he will have a lot of fun in that role.

Paul Coro recently suggested that the Suns may not want to pay Tucker $1.9m next year to get limited minutes behind Barbosa and Richardson. As much as it pains me, Tucker's main purpose for being in Vegas might be to showcase him to other teams and to increase his trade value.

Rookies first look

Earl Clark - Having never seen Clark play it will all be new for me. I can't wait to see how he uses his size and athleticism on both ends of the floor and I want to see how he interacts with his teammates. There's a fine balance between being overly aggressive and too passive and on a team like the Suns it is hard for guys to get a feel for their role. Jason Richardson struggled with this last season and it might be a tough adjustment for Clark coming into this situation. Obviously, playing in Vegas in July won't be the same thing as playing in Phoenix in November but at least we will get a first look.

The one area that Clark doesn't need to hold back is on the defensive end. If he can come in as a rookie and focus on impacting the game on that end he will earn more playing time and buy himself time to let his offensive game develop.

With that in mind, it may seem boring but I don't want to see Clark taking many (barely any) jump shots and I am hoping to only see him with the ball in his hands on limited occasions.

Taylor Griffin - Taylor by no means is certain to earn a roster spot on this team. He was a bit of a flyer with a second round pick and while he might be a cheap 12th or 13th guy he also is easily replaced by some other non-drafted player that might stand out.

Playing as a tweener 3/4 he's fighting an up hill battle on the Suns team with Dudley, Amundson and now Clark all standing in front of him in line. While the Suns are deep in that 6'7" to 6'9" range they are thin at center. I would not be the least bit surprised if the roster spot Taylor is fighting ends up going to a cheap big man that the Suns see in Vegas. A guy like Steven Hill, Courtney Sims or even one of the two bigs on the Suns squad.

Oh, and did you hear his brother got drafted 1st and is supposed to be pretty good? I am guessing we will see a bit of Blake hanging around the Suns games.

Other big names

My primary mission in Vegas is to cover the Suns with a big fat eye on the items mentioned above. But there's a lot of basketball being played and it is a great opportunity to get a look at some other interesting names. Last year I got my first look at Kevin Love (impressed) and Joe Alexander (meh). I also saw Jerryd Bayless destroy DJ Strawberry's NBA career and was impressed with Aaron Brooks and CJ Watson. It was the last time Alexis Ajinca has been heard from despite being drafted 20th by Charlotte.

I can't wait to see what happens this year. Here's some guys I am going to watch for...

Chicago - Taj Gibson and James Johnson
Denver - Coby Karl, Sonny Weems and Ty Lawson
Detroit - Will Bynum, Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko
Golden State - Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph
Houston - James Flight White, Joey Dorsey and Chase Budinger
LA Clippers - Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon (this should be a fun tandem!)
LA Lakers - Adam Morrison?? (where's Sun Yue?)
Memphis - Thabeet and Hamed Haddadi (the biggest pair in Vegas since Dolly Parton)
Milwaukee - Joe Alexander, Brandon Jennings and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Minnesota - Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington and Gerald Hendeson (on load from the Bobcats)
New Orleans - Courtney Sims and Julian Wright
NY Knicks - Nikoloz Tskitishvili (!), Jordan Hill, Blake Ahern and Mouhamed Sene
OKC Thunder - James Harden!, Russel Westbrook, Shaun Livingston, BJ Mullens
Portland - Jerryd Bayless, Jeff Pendergraph, Patty Mills
Sacramento - Tyreke Evans, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Omri Casspi, Donte Green (this team is loaded!)
San Antonio - DeJuan Blair, Malik Hairston, George Hill, Nando De Colo
Washington - Javale McGee, Nick Young
Dallas - Nick Calathes, Mikael Gelabale, Luke Jackson
Cleveland - TBD
Toronto - Demar DeRozan, Nathan Jawai, Brent Petway, Roko Ukic, Quincy Douby, Patick O'Bryant
D-league Select team - Othyus Jeffers, Trey Johnson

Any other interesting talent

There should be a few guys you've never heard of that jump out. Last year a funny looking white guy with a pony tail really stood out for his energy and defensive effort. He was ALL over the court and really made an impression. He turned out pretty good.

Suns matchups

1. Dallas: Monday, 3pm

The Mavericks are one of many weak Summer League teams. It will be interesting to watch Dragic and Calathes hook up but beyond that there's not much here to get excited about. I've always like Gelabale and Luke Jackson is a very good D-league player that has a legit chance at a NBA contract. Rodrigue Beaubois might be interesting to watch as well. He's a 6' point guard from France that the Mavs picked 25th overall. That's all I know about him until I see him on Monday.

2. Toronto: Wednesday, 5pm

This one should be the best game of the week for the Suns. Ukic and Douby can play and should be a good test for Dragic and it will be fun to see how Tucker handles DeRozan. Up front they are thin but Petway is a great defender and O'Bryant and Jawai are...big

3. D-league Select: Friday, 7pm

Ugh...There's a lot of very good D-league players balling in Vegas but most of them are playing for an NBA team. That leaves this group as not much more then a gimmick with only a couple of decent (D-league) players. Othyus Jeffers is nice. Walker Russell is an interesting PG that got a try out from the Suns last year in their big 6 player PG audition. And Trey Johnson can play basketball.

4. Memphis, Saturday, 5pm

The Grizzlies present two big match ups for Robin Lopez and Thabeet and Haddadi. This should definitely be a fun one for Robin to battle those two. He should have the strength advantage on Thabeet and quickness on the big Iranian but still, they are tall. Darrell Arthur was a starting power forward last year in the NBA. That's something. Not much but something. There are no guards to speak of on this team.

5. LA Clippers, Sunday, 730pm

This might be a decent game if it weren't on the last game on the last day of the entire event and is the 3rd game in 3 days for the Summer Suns. In other words, even though Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon are exciting young players this isn't the match up to see them at their best. Shame the Suns aren't playing them on Wednesday or Friday but they aren't and based on last year there's a good chance the big names will barely play in this one.

Here's the full Vegas schedule

It's Vegas Baby!

Aside from having the opportunity for some quality beer, basketball and bullshit time with all sorts of basketball types, my main plan is to crank out a daily podcast with brief interviews with various folks that will be in town for the fun. If you have anyone your interested in hearing from or any specific questions...you know what to do.

NBA Summer League Rosters Taking Shape

Scott Schroeder — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:00:21 -0000

UPDATED - check after the jump for everything updated in the past three days.

Alright, we got all of the personal mumbo-jumbo out of the way - let's begin with the Summer League coverage!

The Orlando of the NBA Summer League schedule (July 6-10) is here, the Vegas portion of the NBA Summer League schedule (July 10-19) is here and the NBA Summer League roster of your favorite team (so far) is... After the jump!

I was all drafted out, so sorry for the lack of posting going on this weekend - I sincerely apologize to all thirteen of you that were disappointed. As a show of goodwill, I worked feverishly throughout the weekend to scour my sources, google the news, and do anything and everything I could to start piecing together an accurate view of what your team will look like this Summer.

Granted, it's probably not likely to expect much out of some of these players, but each year there are players that pop up from nowhere in Summer League and impress enough to earn a spot on an NBA roster. The most recent example would be Bobby Brown from last season, though there are plenty more (and we'll look at them throughout the next week heading into the Orlando portion of NBA Summer League's).

After the jump, I've put together a list of which players I've (all but) confirmed. If you're aware of anymore, let me know in the comments! If you're unsure of one of the players, click on the link - it'll either take you to their SBNation page or, if they're a bit more obscure, whichever source linked them to said Summer League team.

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/29/09 9:21 AM CDT ] Added Wink Adams to New York

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/29/09 11:15 AM CDT ] Added Daniel Artest to Houston

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/29/09 9:34 PM CDT ] Added Paul Harris to Minnesota, from Cleveland

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 12:02 AM CDT ] Added Kevin Kruger to Utah

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 12:48 AM CDT ] Added Acie Law to Golden State

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 8:58 AM CDT ] Added Lee Cummard to Phoenix, Luke Nevill to New Orleans

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 10:27 AM CDT ] Added Alex Ruoff to Washington

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 12:59 PM CDT ] Added Trent Plaisted, Deron Washington, Will Bynum, Dwayne Jones, Clay Tucker, Ibrahim Jaaber and Matt Freije to Detroit

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 1:42 PM CDT ] Added Mohamed Tangara to Milwaukee

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 8:50 PM CDT ] Added Rod Benson to Houston, Demetris Nichols to Toronto

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 12:19 AM CDT ] Added Dar Tucker and Kevin Rogers to Dallas; Jaycee Carroll to New Orleans; completed Minnesota, Golden State and Utah

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 11:54 AM CDT ] Completed San Antonio, Orlando and Boston roster

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 2:08 PM CDT ] Added Phoenix roster, Robert Swift to Boston

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/01/09 2:50 PM CDT] Added Jim Baron to Washington

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/01/09 5:00 PM CDT] Completed Chicago, Sacramento and New Orleans rosters

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 6:40 PM CDT ] Completed Indiana, Milwaukee, New York, Oklahoma City, LA Clippers

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 8:02 PM CDT ] Completed Washington

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/02/09 4:05 PM CDT ] Completed Houston

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/02/09 5:31 PM CDT ] Completed Portland, Memphis

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/02/09 8:10 CDT ] Completed Philadelphia/N.J. roster

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/03/09 11:12 AM CDT ] Completed (?) Denver roster

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/07/09 7:45 PM CDT ] Completed Dallas, Detroit and D-League Select rosters

2009 ORLANDO SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTERS

Boston Celtics

Bryan Mullins, Lester Hudson, Chris Lofton, Gabe Pruitt, Bill Walker, J.R. Giddens, Michael Sweetney, Coby Karl, Darius Washington, Bryce Taylor, Kevin Rogers, Robert Swift,

Indiana Pacers

Aaron Jackson, Leo Lyons, Tyler Hansbrough, Brandon Rush, Josh McRoberts, A.J. Price, Roy Hibbert, Will Blalock, Trey Johnson, Anthony Smith, Derrick Byars, Courtney Sims, Scott Vander Meer,

Philadelphia 76ers/ New Jersey Nets

Blake Ahearn, Jrue Holiday, Marreese Speights, Dionte Christmas, Chris Johnson, Rob Kurz, Gary Forbes, Marcus Slaughter, Terrence Williams, Chris Douglas-Roberts, AJ Abrams, Jeff Adrien, Jason Ellis,

Oklahoma City Thunder

Serge Ibaka, Shaun Livingston, BJ Mullens, James Harden, Robert Vaden, DeVon Hardin, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver, D.J. White, Marcus Dove, Moses Ehambe, DeAngelo Alexander, Richard Roby, Kyle Hines, Doug Thomas, Keith McLeod,

Orlando Magic

Ryan Anderson, Levance Fields, Richard Hendrix, Russell Robinson, Darian Townes, Maurice Ager, Lance Allred, Brian Chase, Ronald Dupree, Courtney Fells, C.J. Giles, Steven Milosevic, Jeremy Pargo, Milovan Rakovic, Jeremy Richardson

Utah Jazz

Eric Maynor, Gary Wilkinson, Goran Suton, Kosta Koufos, Kyrylo Fesenko, Wesley Matthews, Kevin Kruger, Kevin Lyde, Andre Ingram, James Augustine, Cedric Bozeman, Justin Reed, Josh Duncan, Jim Baron, Reyshawn Terry and Larry Turner

2009 VEGAS SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTERS

Chicago Bulls

Luke Zeller, James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Bryan Mullins, Tyrell Biggs, Mario Austin, AD Vasallo, Anthony Roberson, Linton Johnson, Chris Davis, Taurean Green, Lorenzo Mata-Real, DeMarcus Nelson, Julius Hodge, Brandon Costner, James Augustine, Nick Lewis

Cleveland Cavaliers

Maureece Rice, Christian Eyenga, Danny Green, Jawad Williams, Darnell Jackson, Tarence Kinsey,

Dallas Mavericks

Aaron Miles, Rodrigue Beaubois, Ahmad Nivins, Curtis Jerrells, Dar Tucker, Kevin Rogers, Quinton Hosley, Damjan Rudez, Luke Jackson, Henry Dugat, Nick Calathes, Mickael Gelabale, Herbert Hill, Shan Foster, Trent Strickland, Andre Owens, Alfred Aboya, Moussa Seck, Bryson McKenzie

Detroit Pistons

Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko, Walter Sharpe, Trent Plaisted, Deron Washington, Will Bynum, Dwayne Jones, Clay Tucker, Ibrahim Jaaber, Michael Bramos, Andre Owens

Denver Nuggets

Richard Hendrix, Ty Lawson, Derrick Byars, Ronald Dupree, CJ Giles, Coby Karl, Kareem Rush, Cedric Simmons, Sonny Weems

Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Jermareo Davidson, Acie Law, Connor Atchley, Lawrence Hill, Joe Ingles, Jared Jordan, Cartier Martin, Quan Prowell, Lawrence Roberts, Jamal Sampson

Houston Rockets

Garrett Temple, Will Conroy, Jermaine Taylor, Chase Budinger, Rod Benson, Hassan Adams, Marcus Cousin, Joey Dorsey, Charles Gaines, Mike Green, Brad Newley, Maarty Leunen, Darryl Watkins, James White

Los Angeles Clippers

Kyle McAlarney, Kevinn Pinkney, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Mike Taylor, Sean Banks, Dionte Christmas, Marcellus Kemp, Nik Caner-Medley,

Los Angeles Lakers

Tony Gaffney, Chinemelu Elonu, Alan Anderson, Aron Bynes, Dominique Coleman, Terrel Harris, Justin Hawkins, Ben McCauley, David Monds, Adam Morrison, Taylor Rochestie, Luke Schenscher, Mustafa Shakur,

Milwaukee Bucks

Brandon Jennings, Salim Stoudamire, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Joe Alexander, Jodie Meeks, Dominic James,Mohamed Tangara, Will McDonald, Juan Palacios, Chris Richard, Szymon Szewczyk, Lorrenzo Wade

Minnesota Timberwolves

Ben Woodside, Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, Paul Harris, Oleksiy Pecherov, Bobby Brown, Pat Carroll, Devin Green, Gerald Henderson, Steven Hill, Rob Kurz, Garrett Siler,

Memphis Grizzlies

Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young, Darrell Arthur, Hamed Haddadi, Daniel Ewing, Greg Stiemsma, Erik Daniels, Trey Gilder, Longar Longar, Brion Rush, Donta Smith, Marcus Williams

New Orleans Hornets

Marcus Thornton, Terry Martin, Darren Collison, Julian Wright, Luke Nevill, Jaycee Carroll, Earl Barron, Earl Calloway, Bryan Cusworth, Larry Owens, Marc Salyers, Courtney Sims, Anthony Tolliver, Quinton Watkins

New York Knicks

Jordan Hill, Blake Ahearn, Toney Douglas, Alex Acker, Wink Adams, Morris Almond, Warren Carter, Joe Crawford, Patrick Ewing Jr., Ron Howard, Yaroslav Korolev, David Noel, Mouhamed Sene, Rashaad Singleton, Nikoloz Tskitishvili,

Oklahoma City Thunder

Phoenix Suns

Earl Clark, Taylor Griffin, Goran Dragic, Robin Lopez, Lee Cummard, Alando Tucker, Micah Downs, Zabian Dowdell, Josh Carter, Kaspars Berzins, Jiri Hubalek, Geary Claxton, Chris Rodgers, Carlos Powell

Portland Trail Blazers

Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham, Jerryd Bayless, Patrick Mills, Thomas Gardner, Pooh Jeter, Bobby Jones, David Padgett, Deji Akindele, Matt Freije, Dwayne Mitchell, David Moss

Sacramento Kings

Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Donté Greene, Jason Thompson, Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Spencer Hawes, Robert Battle, John Bryant, Pat Calathes, Marcus Landry, Brian Roberts, Victor Stowes, Ryan Toolson

San Antonio Spurs

James Gist, Jack McClinton, DeJuan Blair, Eric Dawson, Malik Hairston, George Hill, Romel Beck, Nando de Colo, Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson, Antonio Anderson, Marcus Vinicius, Ian Mahinmi, Alonzo Gee,

Toronto Raptors

Brent Petway, DeMar DeRozan, Nathan Jawai, Demetris Nichols, Quincy Douby, Roko Ukic, Patrick O'Bryant, Carl English, Ekene Ibekwe, David Doublas, Paul Davis, Smush Parker

Washington Wizards

Tyrese Rice, Nick Young, Javaris Crittenton, JaVale McGee, Alex Ruoff, Jim(my) Baron, Alade Aminu, Ryan Ayers, Jon Edwards, Josh Heytvelt, James Lang, Dominic McGuire, Tywain McKie, Jason Rich, Diamon Simpson, Kyle Spain, Brandon Wallace

NBA D-League Select

Coleman Collins, Walker Russell, Will Frisby, Gary Forbes, Marcus Hubbard, Othyus Jeffers, Jasper Johnson, Trey Johnson, Kurt Looby, Curtis Stinson

Loud Links: Oklahoma City Thunder News for June 26, 2009

daddydai — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:07:20 -0000

4D here. So the draft is over and the kid from OKC went to LA, and the kid from LA went to OKC. Not bad. There is a mixed review of the Thunder’s choices. Personally I’m fine with the overall draft. I was a bit shocked with the Byron Mullens swap, but I feel he has the same bust potential as Thabeet. And if Presti drafted Thabeet, I would have trusted his decision. So I will hope Mullens pans out in the long run. The worst-case scenario is that the 66ers get a few more players on their roster.

In this edition of Loud Links: Presti supposedly told Darnell Mayberry that he was confident Watson would be back next year. Watson participates in a charity event held in the memory of Stromile Swift’s mother. Harden, Mullens, and Vaden will introduced to the public tomorrow in OKC. DailyThunder.com say that Vaden could be the best pure shooter in the draft. Westbrook and Harden have known each other since their youth. ESPN give the Thunder an A- grade.

I found the following and thought it shows some of Vaden's loyalty and relation to the Thunder. The story was not long enough to link so I quoted...

Vaden averaged 17.6 points last season with UAB, where he transferred after two seasons at Indiana to follow coach Mike Davis. Vaden is a former teammate of forward D.J. White, who was a rookie for Oklahoma City last season.

Sam Presti addresses Thunder’s main concerns | NewsOK.com
In third overall pick James Harden, the Thunder added a much-needed perimeter shooter. In trading 25th pick Rodrigue Beaubois for Dallas’ No. 24 pick B.J. Mullens, Oklahoma City landed a center that has the potential to blossom into an anchor in the middle. The Thunder’s most pressing needs going in: shooting and interior defense and rebounding. So what now?

Scout.com: Thunder Selects Harden in NBA Draft
Dressed in a champagne three-piece suit, James Harden bounced a fist pump off his chest when his name was called by NBA commissioner David Stern. It was a move that was a Harden trademark after a big play, and nothing was more monumental in his life than this moment.

Thunder pick ASU G Harden at No. 3 - San Jose Mercury News
"I'm not just a one-dimensional player. That's what separates me from a lot of players in this draft," said Harden, a 6-foot-5 guard. "If they have scorers already, I can in there and be a facilitator and help those other guys score more. Or if they need me to score a little bit and do whatever it takes, then that's what I'll do."

THUNDER: Thunder to Participate in USA Basketball Mini-Camp
"We are pleased to have members of our organization contributing to the efforts and goals of USA Basketball," said Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. "This is another opportunity for our players and staff to gain experience and continue their development. We are grateful for the opportunity that USA Basketball has presented to the Thunder."

Swift honors mother's memory with walk-a-thon | The Times
All proceeds from the walk-a-thon went to the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana. Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay and Oklahoma Thunder point guard Earl Watson also attended the walk.

Harden latest addition to Thunder youth movement - USATODAY.com
"This is not a meant to be disrespectful but we look at our team as a team, not just as a core or as a single, small group. Our team is more than Kevin, Russell and Jeff," Presti said. "And the thing I like about those guys is that they'll be the first people to tell you that. That's part of the reason why we like those guys and want them to be part of our organization. We think James Harden will take the same approach."

Breaking down the draft: OKC style
Mullens is my favorite pick. Not because he’s the best player or I like his style, but because the Thunder desperately, definitely, absolutely needed a man of his size. He is 7 feet tall and weighs 275 pounds. He wasn’t much of a scoring threat at Ohio State, but quite honestly, OKC doesn’t need him to be a consistent scoring machine. Sure, he needs a few moves so that he isn’t a liability on the offensive end, but becoming an efficient passer and offensive rebounder is just as important, probably more so with the amount of shooters already on the roster. No, what the Thunder really needs out of Mullens is a few extra pounds from the weight room and to learn how to play some defense on guys his size and bigger.

James Harden pick means Russell Westbrook can rest easy | NewsOK.com
"Our feelings on Russell have been consistent," Presti said. "Russell’s a competitive, tenacious, young, athletic player who we feel great about. We couldn’t be more thrilled with what he’s doing."

Open Mike Podcast: Harden, Mullens & Head Fakes | Thunder Rumblings
In today’s installment, we discuss whether James Harden is fat, if B.J. Mullens is any good and why GM Sam Presti passed on Ricky Rubio.

This draft is another step in the Thunder's master plan | NewsOK.com
The plan is for Mullens to blossom in year three, which would be Kevin Durant’s and Jeff Green’s fifth season and Westbrook’s fourth season. Throw in Serge Ibaka and OKC could have two decent big men by the time making a serious playoff run is realistic.

Presti Follows Through On Man-Crush, Takes Harden | Sun Devils Community
I was a bit taken aback by some of the mock drafts, analysts and websites that claim Harden isn’t a a player who gives a consistent effort. Not to be a homer, but that was always the least of my concern. James doesn’t want to do anything but win. Those might be at a premium during his first year in OKC, but I don’t think there’s any reason to knock his effort level. He certainly had games in which he didn’t perform to his utmost abilities (see: Temple and Syracuse) but I’d never chalk that up to him not giving it his all.

PBN | Draft grades: Spurs surge
James Harden was the natural fit, so GM Sam Presti is clearly pleased with his team's progress and stayed away from the Rubio curveball. There may be temptation to move Russell Westbrook off the ball at a later time, but for now, letting him soak in experience at the point remains the right move. Harden will challenge Sefolosha for a starting spot and will fit right in with the rest of OKC's workaholics. Byron (no longer B.J.) Mullens intrigued the Thunder as they search for a center to place with their core, and at the No. 24 spot, is well worth the gamble, even at an additional cost of an extra second-round pick. Oklahoma City also spent some money to buy the rights of UAB's Robert Vaden, a gunner who will have an opportunity to shoot himself on to the roster. Grade: B.

Draft Analysis - 2009 Draft Tracker - SI.com
Oklahoma City has acquired this pick. There are real issues about Mullens' desire to play and get better, but his potential is unquestioned. One GM said Mullens has the talent to be a top-five pick. He's the second center of the first round, long after Hasheem Thabeet went second to Memphis.

SportingNews.com - NBA Draft First-Round Analysis
James Harden, SG, Arizona State - Harden is a wonderful kid who is an overwhelmingly powerful shooting guard. He can power past defenders to get to the lane and is a solid shooter. What is worrisome about Harden is how reticent he was about taking control of games. He almost ached to blend in with his teammates, and great players don’t worry about that. A star’s job is to be a star, and Harden too often was reluctant to be that guy.

THUNDER: Thunder Acquires James Harden, B.J. Mullens and Robert Vaden in 2009 NBA Draft
Additionally, the Thunder acquired the draft rights to Robert Vaden (54th selection) from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for cash considerations. The 6-5, 205-pound University of Alabama-Birmingham senior, posted averages of 17.6 points 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game during his senior year. He became the fastest player in UAB history to reach the 1,000-point scoring plateau as he accomplished the feat in 50 games.

THUNDER: Thunder Selects Talented, High-Character Players
"And to hear his mom talk about the team and the way she was able to express herself about people working together, this is a woman that has worked in the same company and the same job for 28 years," Presti said. "There’s no question that her son carries that on. And that was a great conversation for us to have, to continue to learn about him as a person. He understands about expectations here, and he’s really excited about being a part of this organization."

THUNDER: Harden Eager to Learn, Bond With New Teammates
During his two-day visit to Oklahoma City, Harden said he had a solid overall workout, shot the ball well and got a good vibe from everyone he came into contact with. But it was what Harden did the night before his workout with the Thunder and the morning he left town for his next workout that spoke volumes about his work ethic. In both instances, Harden found himself at the Thunder practice facility, shooting jump shots and lifting weights on his own time. It was as if Harden never wanted to leave. Now, it appears as if he will be here for a while.

THUNDER: Thunder Fans to Welcome Newest Players to OKC
Attending the Caravan stop tomorrow will be the three players acquired by the Thunder in last night’s NBA Draft. James Harden, B.J. Mullens and Robert Vaden will all be at the Caravan stop and Thunder fans are encouraged to attend to help welcome them to Oklahoma City. A media only press conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. inside the MidFirst Bank.

#3: James Harden - Basketball News & NBA Rumors - HOOPSWORLD
Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti has shown a willingness during his short tenure with the organization to go against the grain. His selection of James Harden in the 2009 NBA Draft was certainly true to form. With everyone in the building expecting the Thunder to take Spanish guard Ricky Rubio, Presti again shocked the NBA world by taking Harden.

#24: B.J. Mullens - Basketball News & NBA Rumors - HOOPSWORLD
His preference for perimeter play was a big reason that Mullens didn't start for Thad Matta in Columbus. The Buckeye coach wanted Mullens to be a traditional, back-to-the-basket center and as it turns out, Matta's system may not have been the best atmosphere to showcase his talents.

Things Are Complicated for One James Harden Fan - TrueHoop By Henry Abbott - ESPN
As a big Seattle Sonics fan for two decades (1987 to 2008), the last couple of years have obviously not been that fun. One of the most painful aspects of the transformation of my team into the Zombie Sonics has been the fact that Sam Presti has constructed something pretty good in the town-that-shall-not-be-named.

2009 NBA Draft - Round-by-round Coverage - ESPN
The Bobcats will send this pick to the Thunder. Vaden is a terrific shooter, but he's old and a bit one-dimensional. I don't love this pick for Oklahoma City. Not sure how he fits with Harden.

2009 NBA Draft - Round-by-round Coverage - ESPN
The Mavs are trading this pick to the Thunder for No. 25 and a future second-round pick. The Thunder have been looking to get Mullens for weeks and tried to get up as high as No. 14 to get him. Clearly, Sam Presti sees something he likes. Mullens reminds me a lot of a young Darko Milicic, for both good and bad -- he's skilled and athletic, but he doesn't really know how to play.

NBA draft results: The best and the worst - ESPN
B.J. Mullens, I'd like you to meet Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene and Johan Petro. You're the fourth project center taken by this franchise in five years, and let's hope your career turns out differently. Of course, this is a different administration in OKC, and Sam Presti certainly has more of a clue than the folks who were making picks back in Seattle. However, the hit rate on project centers is miniscule, especially this late in the draft. Of course, the hit rate on anybody this late in a weak draft isn't great, so perhaps there wasn't much to lose, but one can't help but wonder how Green or Blair would have looked in a Thunder uni.

NBA draft results: Draft grades - ESPN
While I thought the Thunder might be able to use Ricky Rubio as a trade asset, if nothing else, it's hard to fault Sam Presti. Harden is a better fit in the backcourt with Russell Westbrook, and I think the Thunder got a terrific value pick in Mullens. On talent and upside, he was one of the most intriguing players in the draft. If coach Scott Brooks can get effort from him, the Thunder will have intriguing young talent at every position on the floor.

Evaluating Oklahoma City’s draft | Daily Thunder.com - Where Thunder Happens
Vaden is a lights-out shooter. Really, I don’t know if anybody shoots the ball better than him in this draft. Not even Stephen Curry. Watch some tape on Vaden - he’s ridiculous. He can heat up faster than a gas stove. He’s got absolutely unlimited range, a quick release and he can shoot really well off balance. But he’s no sure thing to make the team. I actually imagine he’ll get signed and spend some time in Tulsa. But that’s just a guess. The Thunder needs a specialist shooter and Vaden could be that guy. Guys like this don’t work out hardly ever, but it’s worth the shot, I think.

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June 2009

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